What a difference a year can make, huh?
In 2019, the Mountaineers struggled at home. After winning their first two games against James Madison and N.C. State, the team would lose their final four home games of the season. Posting a 2-4 record at home is not what good football teams do. Hell, even bad football teams shouldn’t be that piss poor at home.
Fast forward one season, and the narrative has completely changed. With only one home game left in 2020 (November 28th vs. Oklahoma), the Mountaineers are sitting at 5-0 in Morgantown. The only team in the Big 12 with an undefeated record on their turf this season.
The only undefeated BIG 12 team at home 🏠 pic.twitter.com/1qWOrjSMPr
— WVU Football (@WVUfootball) November 15, 2020
Not only has West Virginia been outstanding at home, they have been borderline dominant. In Morgantown, the Mountaineers are putting up 36.4 points per game offensively, while only surrendering 12.8 points per game on defense. In regulation, West Virginia has yet to allow a team to score more than 17 points on Mountaineer Field. The season prior, however, the story was the exact opposite.
As they did all season in 2019, West Virginia struggled to score at home. Putting up an average of 23.1 points per game on offense, the defense was gashed for 30.8 points per game. To add insult to injury, in their four losses West Virginia would lose by an average of almost 16 points per game.
Turning the tides at home this season has been evident that this team is in fact “climbing.” You simply have to take care of business at home, or you will not be successful. While the hope is the fortunes on the road will change in 2021, we can just enjoy the fact that Morgantown is becoming one of the toughest venues in the Big 12.
If Neal Brown can continue to lead his team to such dominant performances at home in the future, the Mountaineers will quickly rise to the top of the Big 12. Rebuilding a program is a step-by-step process, and the massive step taken at Milan Puskar Stadium in 2020 is bigger than many realize.
